Navjot Singh Sidhu cited example of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav to justify his joining Congress
Highlights
- Sidhu, who quit BJP in September, joins Congress
- Didn't rivals Nitish Kumar and Lalu end differences, asks Sidhu
- "Yes, we did. Big goal justifies coming together," says Nitish Kumar
Navjot Singh Sidhu, master of one-liners, shared a surfeit of them today as he met with reporters to discuss his induction into the Congress.
"I am a born Congressman," said the man who served with the BJP for more than 10 years.
Mr Sidhu, 53, will be a "star campaigner" for his new party, its Chief Ministerial candidate Captain Amarinder Singh has shared. The cricketer-turned-politician is also expected to contest Amritsar East when Punjab votes on February 4. In 2014, Mr Sidhu, a member of parliament from Amritsar, was forced to surrender his constituency for Arun Jaitley who lost the election but was made Finance Minister. After that, Mr Sidhu and his wife, Navjot Kaur, also a prominent BJP politician in Punjab, said they were sidelined by the party.
The Sidhus, banking on reports of their public popularity, first speed-dated Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, were unable to agree on terms, and then closed with the Congress after negotiations that reportedly centred on whether Mr Sidhu will be made Deputy Chief Minister if the party wins, and the possibility of his wife running for parliament from Amritsar.
The 53-year-old denied that his political swinging suggests a compromise of ideology for opportunism. "Didn't Nitish (Kumar) and Lalu (Yadav) come together (in Bihar)?" he asked, referring to over a year-old deal that morphed two long-standing rivals in Bihar into allies who now co-govern the state with the Congress as a junior partner. "To achieve large goals, you have to sink your differences," said Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister, endorsing Mr Sidhu's analogy.
For the Congress, the averment comes as the party has found itself arguing with Mr Kumar on a series of fronts including his enthusiastic backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation drive and his decision to invite rival BJP leaders to a festival lunch on the weekend that was cancelled after a boat capsized in Patna, killing 24 people.